Former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, who last fall had expressed interest in serving as interim superintendent, has said he did not apply for the job. Bellevue Superintendent Mike Riley has said he did not apply, though speculation was that he would have been a strong candidate.

Both finalists come from strong education backgrounds. Gooloe-Johnson was a teacher and principal in Colorado and an assistant superintendent in Texas. Thornton served as the deputy superintendent of a large district in Maryland outside Washington, D.C.

They will meet with members of community groups at invitation-only sessions Thursday and Friday evenings.

The board hopes to hire a new leader by the end of April, to replace departing Superintendent Raj Manhas. Manhas, whose tumultuous tenure has been marked by efforts to boost academic achievement and improve the district's finances, announced last October he would step down in August.

Seattle Public Schools has not had an educator at the helm since 1995. That year, retired Army Gen John Stanford took over as superintendent.

School Board members have said they prefer the district's next top officer have a background in kindergarten-through-12th-grade education, though it isn't a requirement.

The "profile" the board approved earlier this year also lays out other desired traits. The person should, among other qualities, work well with people from diverse backgrounds, be committed to reducing the academic achievement gap between white and minority students and have a solid record of leading an urban public school district, according to the profile.

The district's consultants, Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Ray & Associates, had encouraged the district to keep the names of semifinalists under wraps to avoid a repeat of the district's last superintendent search, in 2003.

That search, which cost about $60,000, imploded when all four finalists withdrew their names after facing intense public scrutiny and mounting criticism from parents, politicians and education advocates. One of the primary complaints was that candidates weren't properly vetted -- leading to some unsettling revelations late in the hiring process.